matthew-6:33

It was pointed out to me that the title of last month's E-teaching, Jesus, the Greatest Prosperity Preacher, was a phrase also used by a popular prosperity preacher in one of his teaching articles. He used that phrase, however, not as I did, but rather as a serious claim that Jesus was in fact just ... Read More

The "double deception" that deludes so many professing Christians is this: First, they believe that they are saved when they actually are not; and second, they believe they can never lose what they actually don't possess. Their doom is doubly sealed, often with the help of their pastor's soothing se... Read More

During the first part of His mountainside sermon, Jesus told His disciples that they had to obey God better than the Pharisees and religious teachers, or else they wouldn't enter the kingdom of heaven (see Matthew 5:20). After that, He began explaining the difference between what God expects and wha... Read More

When someone is deaf, he normally will have difficulty speaking clearly and in an understandable way, even if there's nothing wrong with his mouth or vocal cords. The reason is because we learn to talk by comparing what we hear ourselves say with what others say. If we can't hear, we can't learn to ... Read More

Like most teachers, Jesus sometimes repeated to one group what He'd already taught another group. Some of what we read today Jesus taught during His sermon on the mountainside (see Matthew 6-7), so we'll only consider what is new to us. Teaching about prayer, Jesus used an illustration about a man w... Read More

“Sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it” (Gen. 4:7, emphasis added). As was pointed out in the previous chapter, our sanctification is a joint effort on the part of God and ourselves. We grow to be progressively more like Jesus as we cooperate with the Father... Read More

A mere half hour walk east from the wall of Jerusalem, across the Kidron valley, past Gethsemane and over the ridge of Olivet, brings you to the humble town of Bethany. This obscure village nestled on the side of the Mount of Olives would have been long forgotten, if not for the fact that it became ... Read More

The kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven seem to be variations of the same idea. A kingdom implies a king. Our king is Jesus. Jesus said His kingdom was not of this world (John 18:36). Jesus' authority did not come from man but from God (Luke 22:29). Entrance into the kingdom of God is by a new ... Read More

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. (Matthew 6:33 NASB) For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. (Hebrews 12:3 NASB) Julia Bauer who lives in Bochum,... Read More

Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" Then many warned him to ... Read More